Was the apostle Paul a fan of the Olympic Games?
The apostle Paul appears to have been a fan of the Olympic Games, or at least the athletic contests, because he refers to them often in his writings as illustrations and analyses. He uses the races to teach believers to run for reward, not salvation, and to practice temperance.
Les teaches that Paul must have been a fan of the Olympics because he refers to them so often in his writings for analyses and illustrations. Les notes that when the Olympic Games were held, Corinth had the Isthmian Games, which were the second greatest set of games in the Roman world after the Athenian Games, the Olympics. Paul comes back to the concept of the Olympic races and asks whether these men race just for fun; no, they race to win, to be number one. He tells believers to do the same: run the spiritual race to obtain reward, not salvation, since he has been addressing the carnal Corinthians as believers and brethren. Les also explains that those striving for mastery trained and practiced temperance. They did not go overboard eating because running took energy, nor did they starve their bodies to carry less weight. The idea was temperance. Les applies this by writing that being temperate in all things does not just refer to alcohol; the word temperate means maintaining balance in any area of life.
Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.
Was Paul a fan of the Olympics?
Yes, the context indicates Paul was a fan of the Olympics because he refers to them often in his writings as illustrations. He draws on Olympic and Isthmian races, athletes, prizes, and training to teach spiritual truths about running for reward and practicing temperance.
What games were held in Corinth in Paul's day and how important were they?
In Paul’s day, Corinth hosted the Isthmian Games, the second greatest set of games in the Roman world after the Athenian Games, the Olympics. Paul referred to such athletic contests often, using runners competing for a prize to illustrate believers running a spiritual race for reward, not salvation.